Rocket Launch Events

Dynamic imagery of rocket launches under night skies, showcasing the power and technology of space exploration with smoke trails and reflections.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Demo-1, the first uncrewed mission of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff was at 2:49 a.m., March 2, 2019. The SpaceX Crew Dragons trip to the International Space Station is designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the space station.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After a successful launch at 6:36 a.m. EST, Boeings CST-100 Starliner is in an unplanned, but stable orbit. The team is assessing what test objectives can be achieved before the spacecrafts return to land in White Sands, New Mexico.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the U.S. Space Force 67 payload launches from Space Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Jan. 15, 2023. The mission launched the Space Force's second Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, or CBAS 2, communications satellite and the Long Duration Propulsive ESPA 3A, or LDPE 3A, rideshare satellite hosting multiple experimental payloads.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the companys 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:28 p.m. EST. Dragon will deliver scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the space station to support its Expedition 70 crew, including NASAs Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) and Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE). The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the SpaceX CRS-4 mission to orbit. Liftoff was at 1:52 a.m. EDT.The mission is the fourth of 12 SpaceX flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station. It will be the fifth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecrafts 2.5 tons of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations include critical materials to support 255 science and research investigations that will occur during the station's Expeditions 41 and 42.

A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Demo-1, the first uncrewed mission of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff was at 2:49 a.m., March 2, 2019. The SpaceX Crew Dragons trip to the International Space Station is designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the space station.

STS116-S-025 (9 Dec. 2006) --- Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B occurred at 8:47 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 9, 2006 in what was the first evening shuttle launch since 2002. The STS-116 crew will link up with the station on Monday, Dec. 11, to begin a complex, week-long stay that will rewire the outpost and increase its power supply. During three spacewalks and intricate choreography with ground controllers, the astronauts will bring electrical power on line generated by a giant solar array wing delivered to the station in September.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Rising on a column of fire, space shuttle Discovery heads toward space after liftoff from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttle Discovery lifted off at 6 21 a.m. EDT on April 5, 2010. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Looking like a shooting star, Space Shuttle Discovery roars into the night sky on mission STS-116. The trailing blaze lighted the sky and nearby water, while clouds of smoke and steam billowed across the launch pad. Liftoff occurred on time at 8:47 p.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for mission STS-116. The first launch attempt on Dec. 7 was postponed due a low cloud ceiling over Kennedy Space Center. This is Discovery's 33rd mission and the first night launch since 2002. The 20th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-116 carries another truss segment, P5. It will serve as a spacer, mated to the P4 truss that was attached in September. After installing the P5, the crew will reconfigure and redistribute the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. Landing is expected Dec. 21 at KSC. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into the sky from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021, carrying the companys Crew Dragon Endeavour. Onboard the capsule are NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, spacecraft commander; NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, pilot; ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, mission specialist; and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, mission specialist. NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 mission crew will dock to the Harmony modules forward-facing international docking adapter of the International Space Station on Saturday, April 24, at 5:10 a.m.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule lifts off at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station.SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making Americas microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 7:27 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 15, 2020, carrying the companys Crew Dragon Resilience capsule. Onboard the capsule are NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 NASA astronauts, Michael Hopkins, spacecraft commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Shannon Walker, mission specialist; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist. Crew-1 is the first regular crew mission of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The Crew Dragon will dock with the space station and the crew will remain on the orbiting laboratory for a six-month science mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Billowing clouds of smoke are backlit by the flames streaming from behind Space Shuttle Columbia as it leaps off the launch pad on its 27th flight into space on mission STS-109. Liftoff occurred at 6:22:02:08 a.m. EST (11:22:02:08 GMT). The goal of the mission is the maintenance and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope, to be carried out in five spacewalks. The crew of STS-109 comprises Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, Payload Commander John M. Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Richard M. Linnehan, James H. Newman and Michael J. Massimino. After an 11-day mission, Columbia is expected to return to Kennedy March 12 about 4:35 a.m. EST (09:35 GMT)

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

Flames and smoke from a Japanese H-IIA rocket with the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory onboard, are seen during the launch from the Tanegashima Space Center, Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, Tanegashima, Japan. The GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours.

The final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on Sept. 15, 2018, carrying NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). Liftoff was at 9:02 a.m. EDT (6:02 a.m. PDT). The satellite will measure the height of our changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses per second. ICESat-2 will provide scientists with height measurements that create a global portrait of Earth's third dimension, gathering date that can precisely track changes of terrain, including glaciers, sea ice and forests.

A Delta IV Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. During the two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission, engineers will evaluate the systems critical to crew safety, the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV06 payload launches from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla on Jan. 18, 2023. The overall objective of GPS III is to deliver sustained, reliable GPS capabilities to America's warfighters, our allies, and civil users. GPS provides positioning, navigation, and timing service to civil and military users worldwide.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Launch Complex-40 is ablaze as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket begins its ascent after liftoff at 3:44 a.m. EDT.The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, Program. During the flight, the Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the stations Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the early morning May 4, 2019. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. EDT. This is SpaceXs 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

The Soyuz TMA-14M rocket is launched with Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, Friday, September 26, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Samokutyaev, Serova, and Wilmore will spend the next five and a half months aboard the International Space Station. Serova will become the fourth Russian woman to fly in space and the first Russian woman to live and work on the station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti onboard, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission is the fourth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti launched at 3:52 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission onboard the orbital outpost.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module climbs upward after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the early morning May 4, 2019. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. EDT. This is SpaceXs 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the early morning May 4, 2019. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. EDT. This is SpaceXs 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Aug. 11, 2018) NASA launches the Parker Solar Probe from Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. U.S. Naval Research Laboratorys (NRL) Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) will provide the only images of the Suns emissions and coronal mass ejections for the Parker Solar Probe mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 4:47 a.m. EST. The commercial resupply mission will deliver 3,700 pounds of scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and supplies, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations that will take place on the space station.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeings Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliners second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.

Launch of Vanguard III

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Launch of the Atlas II rocket bearing the GOES-M satellite gives a burst of light to the night sky, even reflected in the nearby water. Liftoff occurred at 3 23 01 EDT from Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-M is the last in the current series of advanced geostationary weather satellites in service. GOES-M has a new instrument not on earlier spacecraft, a Solar X-ray Imager, which can be used in forecasting space weather and the effects of solar storms

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The brilliance of space shuttle Discovery's liftoff at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is reflected in the water near Launch Pad 39A. Liftoff on the STS-131 mission was on time at 6:21 a.m. EDT. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In a perfect, on-time launch, Space Shuttle Endeavour breaks away from the billows of smoke and steam around Launch Pad 39B. Liftoff of Endeavour occurred at 10:06:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97. Endeavour and its five-member crew will deliver U.S. solar arrays to the International Space Station and be the first Shuttle crew to visit the Stations first resident crew. The 11-day mission includes three spacewalks. This marks the 101st mission in Space Shuttle history and the 25th night launch. Endeavour is expected to land at KSC Dec. 11 at 6:19 p.m. EST

NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 Launch. In this 30 second exposure, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Thursday, March 2, 2023, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev launched at 12:34 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission aboard the orbital outpost.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Light and dark clouds of smoke and steam, spawned by the fire of liftoff, roll across Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery heads to space on the STS-119 mission. Liftoff was on time at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

(Nikon camera D1 test)The blazing light of Space Shuttle Discovery's launch turns night into day at Launch Pad 39B as billows of smoke and steam rise behind it. The successful liftoff occurred on time at 7:50:00.069 EST from Launch Pad 39B on mission STS-103. On board are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly and Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-François Clervoy of France. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. STS-103 is a Hubble Servicing Mission, with three planned space walks designed to install new equipment and replace old. The primary objective is to replace the gyroscopes that make up the three Rate Sensor Units. Extravehicular activities include installing a new computer, changing out one of the Fine Guidance Sensors, replacing a tape recorder with a new solid state recorder, and installing a voltage/temperature improvement kit, and begin repairing

The Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, March 29, 2013 carrying Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin to the International Space Station. Their Soyuz rocket launched at 2:43 a.m. local time.

The Soyuz MS-07 rocket is launched with Expedition 54 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Scott Tingle of NASA, and flight engineer Norishige Kanai of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Shkaplerov, Tingle, and Kanai will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 4:47 a.m. EST. The commercial resupply mission will deliver 3,700 pounds of scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and supplies, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations that will take place on the space station.

NASA/SpaceX CRS-27 Liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the companys 27th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Dragon will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratorys Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Delta IV Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. During the two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission, engineers will evaluate the systems critical to crew safety, the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the SpaceX CRS-4 mission to orbit. Liftoff was at 1:52 a.m. EDT.The mission is the fourth of 12 SpaceX flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station. It will be the fifth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecrafts 2.5 tons of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations include critical materials to support 255 science and research investigations that will occur during the station's Expeditions 41 and 42.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Twin columns light the night sky as space shuttle Endeavour hurtles into space on the STS-126 mission. Liftoff was on time at 7:55 p.m. EST. STS-126 is the 124th space shuttle flight and the 27th flight to the International Space Station. The mission will feature four spacewalks and work that will prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud forms at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Endeavour thunders into the night sky. Launch of the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4 14 a.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew and the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. The first attempt on Feb. 7 was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and dockin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Billows of smoke and the water near Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida capture the brilliant light of space shuttle Discovery's lift-off on the STS-119 mission. The launch was on time at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud billows around Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery lifts off at 6:21 a.m. EDT April 5 to begin the STS-131 mission. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Viewed from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery rides the tower of flames as it roars into space on the STS-119 mission. Liftoff was on time at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle soars into the sky from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Plumes of exhaust and smoke billow around the lightning masts on Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as a Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 8:35 p.m. EDT, carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit.Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making Americas microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery blasts off in a blaze of fire and clouds seen reflected in waters surrounding Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-131 mission. Shuttle Discovery lifted off at 6 21 a.m. EDT on April 5, 2010. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying 24 satellites as part of the Department of Defense's Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission launches from Launch Complex 39A, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four NASA technology and science payloads which will study non-toxic spacecraft fuel, deep space navigation, "bubbles" in the electrically-charged layers of Earth's upper atmosphere, and radiation protection for satellites are among the two dozen satellites that will be put into orbit.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis blazes through the night sky to begin the STS-86 mission, slated to be the seventh of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Liftoff on Sept. 25 from Launch Pad 39A was at 10:34:19 p.m. EDT, within seconds of the preferred time, during a six-minute, 45-second launch window. The 10-day flight will include the transfer of the sixth U.S. astronaut to live and work aboard the Mir. After the docking, STS-86 Mission Specialist David A. Wolf will become a member of the Mir 24 crew, replacing astronaut C. Michael Foale, who will return to Earth aboard Atlantis with the remainder of the STS-86 crew. Foale has been on the Russian Space Station since mid-May. Wolf is scheduled to remain there about four months. Besides Wolf (embarking to Mir) and Foale (returning), the STS-86 crew includes Commander James D. Wetherbee, Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield, and Mission Specialists Wendy B. Lawrence, Scott E. Parazynski, Vladimir Georgievich

The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Friday March 15, 2019, Kazakh time (March 14 Eastern time) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Smoke and steam billow across Launch Pad 39A as Space Shuttle Atlantis leaps into the sky on mission STS-117 to the International Space Station. Liftoff was on-time at 7:38:04 p.m. The shuttle is delivering a new segment to the starboard side of the International Space Station's backbone, known as the truss. Three spacewalks are planned to install the S3/S4 truss segment, deploy a set of solar arrays and prepare them for operation. STS-117 is the 118th space shuttle flight, the 21st flight to the station, the 28th flight for Atlantis and the first of four flights planned for 2007. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Rising clouds of smoke and steam appear to surround Space Shuttle Atlantis as it hurtles toward space on mission STS-112. Liftoff occurred on time at 3:46 p.m. EDT. Along with a crew of six, Atlantis carries the S1 Integrated Truss Structure and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts. On the 11-day mission, three spacewalks are planned to attach the S1 truss. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The engines ignite under the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 4:05 a.m. EDT lifting NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, off Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.RBSP will explore changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun -- known as "space weather" -- that can disable satellites, create power-grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will provide data on the fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module climbs upward after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the early morning May 4, 2019. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. EDT. This is SpaceXs 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test mission, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be Starliners maiden mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 6:26 a.m. EST launch on Dec. 20, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.

Liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-130 from Pad 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA

NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 Final Prelaunch Engine Firing Test. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A during a brief static fire test ahead of NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the companys Crew Dragon atop, soars upward after a 3:52 a.m. EDT liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission on April 27, 2022. Aboard the Dragon are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. The spacecraft will carry the Crew-4 astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom by the missions crew, is scheduled to dock to the space station today at 8:15 p.m. EDT.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket launches with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, satellite onboard from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. OCO-2 will measure the global distribution of carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earths climate.

An Intelsat V spacecraft is launched aboard an Atlas Centaur-56 launch vehicle from Complex 36A. Base: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Soyuz MS-13 rocket is launched with Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Andrew Morgan of NASA, and flight engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Skvortsov, Morgan, and Parmitano launched at 12:28 p.m. Eastern time (9:28 p.m. Baikonur time) to begin their mission to the International Space Station.

Pacific Ocean, March 8, 2006 - A Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is launched from the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) during a Missile Defense Agency, and Japan Defense Agency cooperative flight test mission. The test entitled Joint Control Test Vehicle-1 (JCTV-1), demonstrated the performance of the SM-3 missile modified with the Japan-designed advanced nosecone and Aegis BMD Weapon System.

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen as it launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 43 NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) onboard Saturday, March 28, 2015, Kazakh time (March 27 Eastern time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Demo-1, the first uncrewed mission of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff was at 2:49 a.m., March 2, 2019. The SpaceX Crew Dragons trip to the International Space Station is designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the space station.

STS119-S-021 (15 March 2009) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member STS-119 crew head toward Earth orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 7:43 p.m. (EDT) on March 15, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Onboard are astronauts Lee Archambault, commander; Tony Antonelli, pilot; Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys Koichi Wakata, all mission specialists. Wakata will join Expedition 18 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the space station. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud engulfs Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Endeavour lifts off into the night sky. Launch of the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4:14 a.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew and the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. The first attempt on Feb. 7 was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and dockin

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station launches from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, July 14, 2022. The Dragon spacecraft will carry supplies and equipment to aid in investigations such as testing the process of creating a biopolymer soil composite which is an alternative for concrete in a microgravity environment.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the early morning May 4, 2019. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. EDT. This is SpaceXs 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The water close to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida captures the brilliance from launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A was on time at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The STS-128 mission is the 30th International Space Station assembly flight and the 128th space shuttle flight. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill.

The Soyuz MS-02 rocket is launched with Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Kimbrough, and Borisenko will spend the next four months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

In the foreground, from left to right, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis; Tory Bruno, president and chief executive officer of United Launch Alliance; and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine watch the launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for Boeings Orbital Flight Test, Dec. 20, 2019. Liftoff occurred at 6:36 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is the Starliners first flight for NASAs Commercial Crew Program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud begins to form at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery lifts off on the STS-131 mission at 6:21 a.m. EDT April 5. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

The two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 29, 2018. On the companys 15th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon is filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support several science and research investigations that will occur during Expedition 56. The spacecrafts unpressurized trunk is carrying a Canadian-built Latching End Effector, or LEE. This new LEE will replace a failed unit astronauts removed during a series of spacewalks in the fall of 2017. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships.

Total Lunar Eclipse. The Moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse above NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems.

NASA/SpaceX SWOT Liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, lifts off from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 16, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST. A collaboration between NASA and the French space agency Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the UK Space Agency, SWOT will be the first satellite to survey nearly all water on Earths surface. The satellite will help researchers understand how much water flows in and out of Earths freshwater bodies and will provide insight into the oceans role in climate change. The instruments onboard will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean, and will observe ocean features in higher definition than ever before. NASAs Launch Services Program, based at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Delta IV Heavy rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying NASA's Orion spacecraft on an unpiloted flight test to Earth orbit. Liftoff was at 7:05 a.m. EST. During the two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission, engineers will evaluate the systems critical to crew safety, the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule lifts off at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station.SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making Americas microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is partially obscured by its exhaust plume as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch of the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4 14 a.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew and the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. The first attempt on Feb. 7 was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and

The NASA InSight spacecraft launches onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket, Saturday, May 5, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeings Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliners second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An exhaust cloud begins to form at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery lifts off on the STS-131 mission at 6 21 a.m. EDT April 5. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, smoke fills the air as the Project Morpheus prototype landers engine fires during a tether test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. During the test, the lander was lifted 20 feet by crane, and then ascended another 10 feet. The lander will maneuver backwards 10 feet, and then fly forward and descend to its original position, landing at the end of the tether onto a transportable launch platform. Testing of the prototype lander was performed at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for tethered and free flight testing at Kennedy.The landing facility will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Mor

The Soyuz MS-13 rocket is launched with Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Andrew Morgan of NASA, and flight engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Skvortsov, Morgan, and Parmitano launched at 12:28 p.m. Eastern time (9:28 p.m. Baikonur time) to begin their mission to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket is poised for liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K, TDRS-K, to orbit. Launch is set for 8 48 p.m. EST. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services.

NASA/SpaceX CRS-27 Liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the companys 27th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Dragon will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratorys Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Friday March 15, 2019, Kazakh time (March 14 Eastern time) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, March 29, 2013 carrying Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin to the International Space Station. Their Soyuz rocket launched at 2:43 a.m. local time.

TROPICS Rocket Launch. The engines of the first stage of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket ignite as the rocket lifts off Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASAs Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.

A SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket carrying Starlink mission 3-4 launches from Space Launch Complex-4E on Aug. 30, 2022, at 10:40 p.m. PDT, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. The first ever Starlink satellites launched from Vandenberg on Feb. 22, 2018!

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Media gathered on the bank of the turn basin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are witness to space shuttle Endeavour's liftoff from Launch Pad 39A. Launch on the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4:14 a.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew and the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. The first attempt on Feb. 7 was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spa

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The brilliant light of space shuttle Discovery's lift-off on the STS-119 mission lights up the clouds of smoke and the water near Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch was on time at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

Sunset colors the horizon to the east as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbs away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. On board is NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR. Liftoff occurred at 6:03 p.m. EST. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force, and will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities.

NASA/SpaceX SWOT Liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, lifts off from Space Launch Complex-4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 16, 2022, at 3:46 a.m. PST. A collaboration between NASA and the French space agency Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales (CNES), with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and the UK Space Agency, SWOT will be the first satellite to survey nearly all water on Earths surface. The satellite will help researchers understand how much water flows in and out of Earths freshwater bodies and will provide insight into the oceans role in climate change. The instruments onboard will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean, and will observe ocean features in higher definition than ever before. NASAs Launch Services Program, based at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.

A Falcon Heavy rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Nov. 1, 2022. This was the first National Security Space Launch mission carried out on a Falcon Heavy rocket.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After a successful launch at 6:36 a.m. EST, Boeings CST-100 Starliner is in an unplanned, but stable orbit. The team is assessing what test objectives can be achieved before the spacecrafts return to land in White Sands, New Mexico.

STS127-S-030 (15 July 2009) --- Space Shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member STS-127 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 6:03 p.m. (EDT) on July 15, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Onboard are astronauts Mark Polansky, commander; Doug Hurley, pilot; Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agencys Julie Payette, all mission specialists. Kopra will join Expedition 20 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the ISS. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the space station.

The Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-102 mission, clears launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center as the sun peers over the Atlantic Ocean on March 8, 2001. STS-102's primary cargo was the Leonardo, the Italian Space Agency built Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM). The Leonardo MPLM is the first of three such pressurized modules that will serve as the International Space Station's (ISS') moving vans, carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments, and supplies to and from the Station aboard the Space Shuttle. The cylindrical module is approximately 21-feet long and 15- feet in diameter, weighing almost 4.5 tons. It can carry up to 10 tons of cargo in 16 standard Space Station equipment racks. Of the 16 racks the module can carry, 5 can be furnished with power, data, and fluid to support refrigerators or freezers. In order to function as an attached station module as well as a cargo transport, the logistics module also includes components that provide life support, fire de

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